Easter 2011

It’s been a great day, and is even warm enough that we’ve been able to have our windows open all afternoon. I have been loving the fresh air.

We have had a very nice, and relaxing day. Harry has been reading all kinds of info on the new Chevy, and is anxiously awaiting pick-up day! Usually my day off is Wednesday, but this week due to people out at the branch, my boss asked me to switch days off, so we will be heading over to get the truck on Friday.  

We are having a pretty simple ham dinner, with one new favorite and one old. Sometimes I get tired of having the same ol’ thing over and over. I had planned to make mashed potatoes, but decided to look for some way to spice it up, and I found – Garlic and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes. The old fave is a dish called Broccoli Supreme.

The mashed potato dish started out pretty simply: peel and bowl some potatoes.

I adapted the recipe a bit to use ingredients we had in the house: 2 tsp. minced garlic (instead of 4 garlic cloves put through a press), a container of cream cheese (instead of the package) and 1 cup of milk.

Mash the potatoes and add the above ingredients, then spoon into a dish and sprinkle with 2 tbs. parmesan cheese and a 1/2 tbs. parsley. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

For Broccoli Supreme, I used two packages of chopped broccoli. The actual recipe calls for it to be cooked, but I just thaw and drain. I have been making this dish for many years, and when I first tried it, I found that the broccoli was pretty mushy. Not pre-cooking it seems to help that a bit.

In a bowl, combine 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 tbs. flour, 1/2 cup of grated carrots, 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 tsp. of pepper, 1/2 tsp. of salt.

Then add the broccoli.

For the topping, use 1 1/2 cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing mixed with 4 tbs. of melted butter. Then bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. (Although I am baking them both at 375 degrees, meeting in the middle!)

And the finished dishes…

Hope they taste as good as they look!

Happy Easter everyone! Hope it is warm and sunny wherever you are!